Board Member Bell Achieves “Master” Status

School Board member Allena Bell Receives Master School Board Member status at Tennessee School Boards Association annual conference in November 2017.

Allena Bell, a member of the Franklin Special School District Board of Education, was called on stage during the Tennessee School Boards Association’s (TSBA) annual conference in November as one of nine school board members across the state to receive the TSBA Level 5 Boardsmanship Master School Board Member certification. With this designation, Bell joins two other Master level board members on the FSSD Board – Chairman Tim Stillings and Vice-Chairman Robert Blair.

To encourage professional growth of school board members, TSBA offers a Master School Board Member certification to members who invest their time and effort into becoming more informed and more effective school board members. The award is given for participation in activities outside of local school board obligations. There are five levels of recognition in the TSBA Boardsmanship Award Program. Level V board members must have earned credits in the appropriate categories and submitted a portfolio consisting of: sample policies, references from colleagues, self-evaluation, presentations, advocacy and a written essay.

Master Ambassador

Also presented at the conference was a Master Ambassador Award to Allena Bell for her “outreach efforts to increase community awareness and understanding of public education issues,” according to TSBA. This is the second Master Ambassador Award Bell has received. The first was presented to her in 2015.

Bell was appointed by the Board of Education in 2013 to fill a vacant seat and was subsequently elected in 2014 to serve a four-year term. She currently serves as the School Board’s Treasurer. She is an active volunteer in the schools, serving in many different capacities for the individual schools. Her work outside FSSD is with the Refuge Center for Counseling as the Director of Donor Relations. Community work includes service as a board member for Franklin Tomorrow, the Education Foundation of Williamson County, and Youth Leadership Franklin. She is a current member of the 2017-2018 Leadership Franklin class, a group of 20 residents who are selected to proceed through a nine-month series of leadership development classes.

“Mrs. Bell is one of the most involved parents and Board members I have ever worked with. She spreads her enthusiastic support for our students, parents, faculty and staff across all our schools in broad measure. Her advocacy and support of public education is unwavering and we appreciate the work she does to create dialogue and partnerships with those both directly and indirectly impacted by public education in our community,” Snowden said.